What She Doesn't See
by Marina Raven
Summary: Everything Katniss doesn't see; everything she can't possibly understand, because she doesn't know what it's like to watch the love of your life in a fight to the death. Collection of Galeniss one-shots from Gale's PoV taking place during the first book.
1. Missed Chance

I'm out of breath as I stumble into the Justice Building. It feels like I won't get there fast enough, that Katniss will slip away forever without my having a chance to say goodbye. That would be disastrous. I'm here to say farewell, and to do what I've never been brave enough to do before. Admit the secret that haunts me every day. Thinking of this, I quicken my pace, desperately searching for the room that holds her. I run into a Peacekeeper. He looks at me disdainfully, but I brush it aside. He points me in the direction of her waiting room, and I quickly walk towards it.

Sitting outside the door, in the plush chairs, are some people I'm not expecting to see. The baker, Peeta Mellark's father. I stare at him.

"This is Katniss's waiting room." I say. He just nods. I then switch my focus to the inhabitant of the other chair, Madge,still wearing her reaping dress. Recalling how spiteful I must have appeared that morning, I ignore her. An uncomfortable, uneasy silence falls between us as I plunk myself down in a chair, ignoring the world around me.

Inside the room, I hear shouting. It must be Katniss's mother and Prim. Who knows what must be going on in there. She never exactly told me what she thought about her mother, but I know her well enough to tell she's still not forgiven Melissa Everdeen for when she blanked out years ago.

Finally, the doors open and they leave. Prim smiles sadly at me, then they are gone. Next, the baker goes in. I hear mostly silence for the time, and am beginning to worry about Katniss. Then, finally, the Peacekeepers enter the room and he emerges.

Then, Madge enters Katniss's room. Impatiently, I wait for my turn. Finally she too leaves, and, I notice, she does not have her gold pin. As I enter the room, Katniss falls into my hug. After giving her some tips on survival, I take a deep breath and am ready to begin my speech. However, those Peacekeepers are back, and as I beg for more time, they drag me out.

"Don't let them starve!" Cries Katniss, clinging to me desperately. I understand.

"I won't! You know I won't! Remember, Katniss, I-" The door slams shut behind me, and my last words suddenly die on my lips. "love you." As I stare at the Peacekeeper, he ignores me. "Please, just a minute! I need to say two words!" I beg.

There is no response, and finally I give up and return home with a heavy heart.


	2. The Odds Are Not In Your Favor

The view of the Reaping is shown that night. Resignedly, I watch as kids from all the districts head to what very well could be their death. Several stick in my mind as competition. The Careers from 1. The Careers from 2, with a monstrous boy who is obviously trained. District 11. There's a small girl, and an extremely tall, strong boy. The girl, Katniss could kill with no trouble, but the other tribute, "Thresh" will be a problem. Then, they show District 12, and I relive the fear and horror at seeing Katniss volunteer. I knew it would happen, but still.

All I know is that winning these games won't be easy, and I will be praying that she'll make it home.


	3. Holding Hands and a Case of Jealousy

The power is on. As I return from hunting and resignedly fling myself down in a chair next to Rory, the television screen flickers on, transforming from static to a clear view of the Capitol. Tonight they're showing the Opening Ceremonies, where the tributes are dressed up before they're sent to kill each other. The thought of it makes me sick. As the District 1 tributes roll out, I ignore them. I ignore all of the chariots, waiting until Katniss and Peeta Mellark roll out, expecting the worst. Usually the 12 costumes are horrible. And then, suddenly, they are there.

I can't pull my eyes off of them. They are on fire. Fire! Dazzling fire that illuminates them. All I can think is that I've never seen Katniss look so beautiful. She doesn't wear too much makeup- she's still recognizable. Streams of fire flutter from their capes, and Katniss and Peeta are surrounded by licking synthetic flames. As expected, the Capitol crowd goes wild. But then, staring at them, I realize something is wrong with the picture. Very wrong. They are holding hands, fingers clenched together in a suspicious way.

I see Vick and Rory glance nervously at me. They know how I feel about Katniss, and no one says anything, studying my reaction. The tension builds.

As a jolt of fear and jealousy courses through me, I begin making up excuses. It must have been an act, or an order from their mentor. They can't have feelings for each other. They have to kill each other, after all! He's holding hands with _Katniss. _My Katniss. Why do I feel so possessive?


	4. Fiery Dresses and a Broken Heart

Tonight is the interviews. More mandatory viewing. School is finished. I just had a particularly successful hunting route. However, the woods aren't the same without Katniss. Too quiet. I'd never thought I'd say that. But I miss her. Her smile, the smile that is only present in the woods. And everything. Especially since the Opening Ceremonies, when I saw her holding hands with that bread-boy.

A view of Caesar Flickerman appears. That man creeps me out. All those Capitol "highlights." The first tribute glides on stage. I ignore all of them, willing them to hurry so I can see Katniss. I should be paying attention, sizing up the competition, but I don't. Then the boy from 11 exits the stage, and I see her. She's wearing a dress covered in gems, and she looks like she's on fire.. again. Her stylist must intend to make this a recurring theme.

As Vick and Rory stare at the screen, I am listening intently to her words.

"So, Katniss, the Capitol must be quite a change from District Twelve. What's impressed you most since you arrived here?" I wait to see her answer. Knowing her, not much would have been impressive.

"The lamb stew." Katniss remarks halfheartedly. I zone out for the next 30 seconds, considering the luxuries of the Capitol. I look up to see her twirling and giggling. My heart almost stops. Katniss, giggling? What? The picture doesn't seem to quite compute. Maybe they've already turned her into a Capitolite.

Caesar inquires about her training score. I grin. Even though the rest of Panem may not know, I know exactly how she got that score. Got her hands on a bow. I am stuck daydreaming about this for a while, and I miss the rest of the interview, seeing her walk offstage.

Then Peeta Mellark walks on stage. I ignore him completely, until Caesar asks the question he always asks to some every year.

"There must be some girl." I catch. Peeta begins.. as I wait apprehensively. Almost everyone knows that he's liked Katniss for a long time.

"Well, there is this one girl. I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping." The audio goes haywire for a minute, sending static ringing through my ears. It returns in time for me to catch the next bit.

"I don't think it's going to work out. Winning.. won't help in my case," says the bread-boy. Caesar looks mystified and asks why.

"Because.. because.. she came here with me." The screens cut to Katniss's blushing face for a second, and then I am bolting out the door, slamming it behind me as I run, away from the scene that I think will break my heart.


	5. Arrows, Knives, and Lies

There's no school today. I complete the usual morning route through the woods, a bit earlier than usual. Everyone avoids me, shooting wary glances at my catch. The haul is less without Katniss, but it's enough to feed both us and the Everdeens.

As I stalk into the Hob, I catch a flash of familiar red hair. Darius stands in my path. I scowl at him to indicate that I don't want to talk, but he ignores me.

"Pity about Katniss, know how you felt." Others chime in, some offering condolences, others shooting him reproving glances. I got into a fight with one of the townies who declared that _"the Everdeen girl would die in a day."_ That was the other day. Everyone avoided me now.

I sell what I need to and deliver some food and money to the Everdeens. It's Prim who answers. "Hello, Gale." she observes in a quiet voice. I hand her the goods wordlessly. She takes them and is about to close the door, but her mother appears in the doorway.

"Thank you, Gale. We'll be watching with your family?" I nod. "See you then." Melissa Everdeen gives me a small smile and closes the door.

I trudge home just as the television flickers into life again. The rest of the family gathers around, but they all leave me some space. I appreciate it. Ever since I vanished into the woods yesterday, everyone's sort of avoided me. Pretty much everyone realized that Peeta had beaten me to my chance.

The seal of Panem shows on the screen and I stare at it blankly. The amount of time it spends hovering there seems like eternity. I wish it would just go away. I want to see Katniss.

Finally, the announcer appears on screen, babbling away obnoxiously in her Capitol accent. They're talking about the odds, and I should be paying attention but I can't. Katniss is the only thing on my mind. She's probably in the Stockyard right now? Is she as nervous as I am?

The camera flicks to one tribute's point of view as they shoot upwards through the chute. The caption on the bottom right corner of the screen reads _"Cato Quartz, District 2." _I tense instinctually. He's the one most likely to kill Katniss.

The camera cuts to a view of the arena. The tributes are standing in a circle around the Cornucopia- that gleaming golden horn holding everything the tributes need. The Careers are always the first to reach it, claiming the best for themselves. Resting on some blankets is a silver sheath of arrows and a bow. My breath catches. Those are for Katniss. The Gamemakers know it, I know it.

I quickly survey the arena and the scenario they've been thrown into. They're standing on a flat stretch of ground, hard dirt. There's a lake, and something that is revealed to be a field or cliff. And, there, is a stretch of piney woods similar to those here in District 12. Standing with her back to them is Katniss. She's wearing simple clothes- green and brown, with a black jacket and flexible leather boots. She's got the Mockingjay pin I recognize as Madge's. Peeta Mellark's standing about five spaces to her right. The cameras flash to Glimmer from District 1, and then back to Peeta. He's shaking his head frantically at Katniss- who appears to be considering running for the bow.

I know how quickly she can run. I'm screaming inside for her to grab it, snatch it from the Cornucopia and run before they kill her.

And the gong rings. The 60 seconds are up. The Careers immediately bolt for the Cornucopia, snatching up the most dangerous weapons. Some of the terrified weaklings run straight into them. Posy and Prim scream as one girl dies instantly. I can hear the others comforting her, but I keep my eyes fixed on Katniss.

She's angry that she missed her chance, and I worry. When she gets upset... yes, I was right. In pure anger, Katniss runs forward and grabs a neon orange backpack. The boy from District 9- they display his name but I don't pay attention- fights her for it. Katniss jerks back in shock as a knife enters his back and he coughs blood onto her. She grabs the backpack and runs. The screen cuts to Cato, who's hacking at the District 5 boy, and then to Clove from District 2, who grabs a knife and hurls it at Katniss's head. I don't scream, don't have time to scream, as she hunches the pack over her head and it lodges in it. I breath a sigh of relief, collapsing to my knees as she continues running, towards the woods again.

The cameras go back to the Cornucopia, back to the bloodbath. Posy and the other kids have left, sickened by the slaughter. I zone out, only vaguely observing the kids get murdered. The screen cuts to several other tributes, but not Katniss.

Suddenly, all attention is on the _other_ District 12 tribute, Peeta Mellark. I snap back into reality as he fights his way to the Cornucopia. The District 4 boy- a Career- attacks him viciously with a spear. Peeta, surprisingly, manages to fight him off with only a knife. As the boy sinks to the ground, dead, the other Careers gather around Peeta. Marvel from District 1 seems to be ready to kill him, but Cato holds him back.

"What was that?" he asks Peeta.

The blond townie only smirked. "What did you expect?"

The District 4 girl jumped towards him, but Cato's yell stopped her. "I'm the leader here, Alexia! Listen to him."

"Was wondering if I could join the alliance," said Peeta. I hear myself gasp, as does everyone else. A person from 12, in the Careers?

"Why can we trust you?" demands Clove, toying with her knife in an almost sadistic way. I swear, that girl is a psycho.

"Yeah, how come we don't know you're just going to betray us? Everyone knows about your little lover. Where is she?" demands Glimmer.

Peeta laughs cruelly. "You mean you guys actually fell for that? It was just an act to get her to trust me.. you know, easier to kill. Told me her secret weapon too."

Cato narrows his eyes. "Go on."

"She's great at close combat, and knives. Terrible at archery, would prefer to fight you close up. Told me everything."

I flinch. Is Peeta telling the truth? If this was all just a lie, and he comes home and she doesn't, I'll make sure he dies himself. Then it hits me. The boy might be my competition, I might hate him, but he's certainly smart. He's telling them lies, Katniss _hates_ close combat. She is better at long-distance. This boy sure loves her, I think bitterly.

"You're not as lovestruck as you look, 12." observes Cato. "Alright, you can join for now. But just remember, I'm the leader here- and if you cross us, I'll make you regret it."

Peeta nods, and joins the others as they pick through what remains at the Cornucopia. The cannons begin to fire, symbolizing how many are dead. Eleven times they fire. Eleven dead. I can only pray that Katniss's name won't be added to that list.


End file.
